An African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in a savannah ecosystem within Kruger National Park, South Africa.

African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) have an important impact on that ecosystem type, influencing its structure, function, and composition. In Kruger National Park, South Africa, park scientists, academics, and managers work synergistically within a strategic adaptive management framework to understand and manage elephant populations as an integral component of ecosystem structure, function, and composition. This photograph originally appeared on the cover of Ecological Applications (14:1) in January of 2004.